


she might just be my everything (and beyond)

by alljustrunaways



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Jake Peralta Loves Amy Santiago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 06:26:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16383035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alljustrunaways/pseuds/alljustrunaways
Summary: Jake talks to his mom about Amy for the first time.





	she might just be my everything (and beyond)

**Author's Note:**

> so this is inspired by the song beyond by leon bridges which is the CUTEST shit ever (pls listen to it while reading) and I thought about jake and amy the second I listened to it so yeah enjoy the fluff!!  
> and it's set around the time of yippie kayak so mid-season 3, but you can probably get that from context

The beginning of winter in New York is one of Jake’s favourite parts of the year. The distinct “garbage” smell of the city fades as the days get colder, the streets look pretty on his drive to work, and he associates it with some of his less awful childhood memories. It’s his mom’s favourite season, so they always did stuff like building snowmen in the front yard, going sledding, walking around Central Park with hot chocolate. He knows the stuff with his dad wasn’t seasonal and was still going on throughout these memories, but the happiness he remembers feeling overpowers it.

Because of this, he’s made a habit of always visiting his mom more frequently during this time of the year. It’s not a huge thing, just a little way for him to show her that he appreciates everything she’s done for him. He doesn’t think she picked up on it for a while because he visits her pretty often year-round, but eventually she grew to expect it and would think of seasonal activities for them to do (even now that he’s thirty-five).

“Hi, honey!” Karen exclaims as she opens the door, pulling him into a tight hug.

“Hey, mom, sorry I’m late,” he says, panting slightly. “I, uh…had to finish something for work.”

She waves her hand. “Not a problem. I just got back from the store, anyways, I wanted to get some of that eggnog you used to like. I hope you don’t mind I added Bailey’s, it was always in mine.”

He slips off his shoes and coat and smiles as he plops down on the couch and sees two mugs on the coffee table.

“So, what was up with work?” she asks, shutting the front door and coming to join him.

“What?” Jake asks, before remembering the lie he had told a few seconds ago. He wasn’t exactly going to tell his mom that he was late because his girlfriend (who she doesn’t know about yet) looked so cute today that he couldn’t resist going to her apartment after work, nor could he resist what she suggested they do when they got there. “Oh, yeah, um…just a murder.”

Karen narrows her eyes at him. “Just a murder?”

“Yeah, just your everyday the-husband-obviously-did-it case,” he says flippantly, trying to change the subject. “How’s everything with you? I’m sorry I haven’t been over in, like, a month, I’ve been…busy.”

“Oh, it’s okay, I’ve been teaching more art classes at the community centre, so I’ve been busy too,” she says. “Are you okay, Jake? You seem kind of anxious.”

He laughs nervously, and he’s really not sure why. He’s told his mom about girlfriends before. Sure, she’s never met any of them - unless you count his mom showing up at his college dorm with a birthday cake for him one year and finding him in bed with his freshman year fling, Courtney, effectively ending said fling - but he’s talked about relationships and she’s never really judged him. This is something different, though.

“Yeah, I wanted to tell you I’ve been, uh, seeing someone.”

She nods, sipping her eggnog. “That’s great! Who is she?”

“It’s actually Amy Santiago.”

Karen nearly spits out her drink, her eyes going wide. “Amy from work?”

He nods, a little bit confused by her reaction. He guesses he might have mentioned Amy to her once or twice before…

“Jake, that’s amazing. I thought you were never going to swallow your pride and ask that girl out!”

“You knew I liked her?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“God, Jake, of course I did - you talked about your detective partner in a way I’ve never heard you describe any girl. Not even Jenny Gildenhorn. I knew something was up.” She’s smiling wider now. “How long have you been seeing her?”

“A little under four months.” He hasn’t told his mom about any relationships under six months, and those have been few and far between.

He’s pretty sure he’s been in love with her for years, though, so he guesses that counts for something.

“And you’re in love with her, right?” Karen asks. _Damn, she’s good._

“Well…yeah,” Jake admits, his cheeks getting a little rosy just from saying it. He’s never said it out loud before, not even to himself. “I haven’t told her, though.”

“Why not?”

“I…honestly don’t know.”

He thinks back to previous relationships - he hasn’t had the best luck. Coming from a broken home, you tend to be cynical when it comes to love, and the few times he didn’t end the relationship himself he found a way to accidentally sabotage it somehow. Most recently, with Sophia, he gave everything he had while she kept her distance and let him in only when she wanted to. He doesn’t want to make that mistake again.

“Do you think it’s long-term? Like…maybe she’s the one?”

The one. Amy Santiago. His partner, probably his best friend, his still fairly new girlfriend. _The love of his life?_ For some reason, it doesn’t sound too far-fetched. He’s already pined over her, fought for their relationship to survive and put his career on the line for her. If she’s not the one, who would be?

He nods his head, shuffling on the couch. “I’m just trying to take it slow, which I suck at. I was going to get her a new blender for Christmas and ended up booking us a week-long cruise to the Bahamas.”

“In my experience, it’s always best to be honest in relationships,” Karen says sincerely. He feels a little pang in his chest thinking about all the times his dad screwed her over. She deserved so much better than him. “I think you should just tell her.”

When he does finally tell Amy he loves her, his mother’s words ring in his head: just tell her. It really is that simple, and maybe it’s easier for Amy to say it first because she grew up with parents that loved each other in a healthy way and said “I love you” all the time, but he knows he means it just as much.

“I would also love to meet her soon, since she’s obviously an important part of your life,” Karen adds. “Invite her over for dinner some time.”

She’s definitely never said _that_ before.

“Okay, I think I will,” Jake perks up a bit, taking a big drink of eggnog and forgetting about the liquor. “Damn, Mom, that’s strong.”

She laughs, and they sit in silence for a while before Jake speaks again.

“You know, she kind of reminds me of how smart Nana was,” he says softly. He and his grandmother had been very close while he was young, and up until she died five years ago. He spent many nights there when his parents’ fighting got out of control. “I think she would’ve really liked her.”

Karen just smiles a bit sadly. “I bet she would have, honey.”

Jake’s phone begins to buzz, and his heart swells a little more than it always does when he sees a dorky selfie he took of he and Amy laying in bed one morning pop up as the caller ID.

“I’ll be right back,” he tells his mom, strolling into the kitchen and accepting the call. “Hey, babe, what’s up?”

“Hey, I didn’t want to interrupt your time with your mom but my new neighbour just moved in and I couldn’t wait to tell you this.” He can hear her voice buzzing with excitement, and he can’t help but smile like an idiot. “His name is John McCain. Just like Die Hard!”

It’s so freaking adorable that A) she called him immediately to tell him this news and B) that she cares enough about his favourite movie to consider this newsworthy, that he doesn’t have the heart to tell her it’s John _McClane_.

“That’s awesome, Ames,” he smiles into his phone. What he really wants to say is “I love you,” but he holds himself back. He wants to see her face the first time they say those words.

“You should get back to your mom, I just had to tell you that,” Amy says. “Still good for three tomorrow?”

They’ve decided to do a mini Hanukkah-Christmas mashup at his apartment, just the two of them, before she leaves for her family Christmas. It later becomes a tradition, which evolves as their family grows, that they always spend a day with just them, away from the craziness of their respective extended families.

“I can’t wait,” he grins. “I expect you to be in your ugliest Christmas sweater, because I’ve got one with a menorah that says ‘let’s get lit’ so it’s going to be hard to compete.”

“You’re such a dork,” she replies, and he can hear in her voice that she’s smiling. “Oh, and I know you’re gonna stop and get pizza on the way home but please get a salad with it, your lack of vegetable intake is truly disturbing and I would prefer if you didn’t have a heart attack before you’re forty.”

He doesn’t have to think about his mom’s earlier question anymore. She’s the one. He’s sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! pls comment thoughts :)


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